WEEK IN REVIEW: Laurels and Darts | March 2, 2018

Rutgers engineers recently created a way to print a 4D hydrogel that may be able to have a significant impact on the future of both the scientific and medical worlds. The project was led by Assistant Professor Howon Lee of Rutgers’ Schools of Engineering. The gel itself is highly reactive to changes in temperature, which gives it an enormous potential to function inside of a person’s body for various potential medical purposes, which may include, “soft robotic microdevices, targeted drug delivery and tissue scaffolds mimicking active bodily functions.” We laurel Lee and the team of engineers that created this hydrogel for helping make advancements in important fields and bringing an even better name to Rutgers.

BRING DOWN NUMBERS

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released its annual audit detailing that New Jersey had 208 reported instances of anti-semitism, including vandalism and harassment. Eight of these incidents were reported to have occurred on Rutgers campuses. The instances at the University included a swastika spray painted onto the side of Stonier Hall and also the incident in October when the anti-semitic Facebook posts of Michael Chikindas — a professor in the Department of Food Sciences — came to light. These occurrences contributed to the 32-percent increase of instances from last year that the ADL reported. We dart this surge of discrimination at Rutgers and in the entirety of New Jersey for creating a hateful atmosphere.

FUTURE IS FEMALE

The Center for American Women and Politics reported that female representation in 2018 state legislature is at a record high. Since 2017, the percentage of women in state legislatures in the U.S. has grown from 25 percent to 25.3 percent, leaving the total number of women that serve in state legislatures at 1,871. A majority of this number is made up of Democrats, with 1,140 female representatives, while Republicans make up 704 of these female representatives. We laurel women for their determination in fighting for equality and for ensuring that the government is more representative of the people it governs.

NO LAUGHING MATTER

In just the past four days, two students from New Brunswick Middle School were arrested for making false statements about carrying a gun in their backpacks. One of the charges was issued on Monday afternoon to a 12-year-old student for “Creating a False Public Alarm.” But after further investigation by the New Brunswick Police Department and the New Brunswick Public Schools, it was determined that there were no actual guns involved. We dart these extremely serious and poor-taste decisions of these students for adding to an atmosphere of hysteria so quickly after the mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

PROMISING FUTURE

University Chancellor Debasish Dutta spoke at his first “State of Rutgers Address” where he touched upon topics such as his goals for the future and his vision for Rutgers over the next 10 years. He explained that he especially saw growth in Rutgers’ areas of research, especially with the research centers around the University that garner a lot of funding, as well as the attention of some of the top professors. He noted that Rutgers accumulates more federal research money than all other New Jersey schools combined, and hopes that this will help bring the University to a reputation of being part of the top 10 public universities in funded research. We laurel Dutta for seeing such great potential for the University and for making it part of his objective to help Rutgers improve even more.

TIGHT SPOT

Parking has been a hot issue and has garnered a significant amount of negative attention in the past year or two. This is a result of transportation transformations that Rutgers is making with regard to maximizing the efficiency of its bus system and dealing with budgetary constraints. Jack Molenaar, the Director of Transportation, said building additional parking decks would put the University in unnecessary debt. Considering how frustrating this issue is to so many students, we dart the tight spot that the University is in with regard to allocating resources toward low-priced and convenient parking for all students that use cars on campus.

The Daily Targum's editorials represent the views of the majority of the 150th editorial board. Columns, cartoons and letters do not necessarily reflect the views of the Targum Publishing Company or its staff.